3.1. Overview of the Environment Variables

voraus Robot Control uses environment variables to configure system paths, runtime behavior, and hardware settings. These variables can be set in Docker Compose files, .env files, or directly in the container environment.

The following sections describe the available environment variables grouped by their purpose. Variables marked as optional do not need to be set and have sensible default values. Variables marked as required must be configured for correct operation.

3.1.1. System Paths

These variables define the directories used by voraus Robot Control for configuration files, logging, and data storage. For more information on the file management system, see File Management.

Table 49 System Path Variables

Variable	Default	Required	Description
VORAUS_CONFIG_DIR	/etc/voraus/voraus-robot-control/	No	Directory containing the robot control configuration files.
VORAUS_SYSTEM_CONFIG_DIR	/etc/voraus/system/	No	Directory containing system-wide configuration files.
VORAUS_LOG_DIR	/var/log/voraus/	No	Directory where robot control log files are written.
VORAUS_DATA_DIR	/root/data/voraus/voraus-robot-control/	No	Directory for persistent data such as user limit sets.

3.1.2. Realtime and Performance Settings

These variables control the realtime behavior of the robot control process. If VRC_USE_REALTIME_ENVIRONMENT is set to False, all other realtime variables are ignored.

Table 50 Realtime Variables

Variable	Default	Required	Description
VRC_USE_REALTIME_ENVIRONMENT	False	Yes	Deactivates all realtime settings if the value is False. The rt Settings Configs are only read if this variable is set to True.
VRC_CPUAFFINITY_MAIN	No default value	No	Pins the main control thread to the specified CPU core (e.g., 1).
VRC_ADJUST_IRQ_SETTINGS	True	No	Sets realtime priorities for all IRQ processes of the fieldbus interface.
VRC_WATCHDOG	Follows VRC_USE_REALTIME_ENVIRONMENT	No	Monitors the cycle time and triggers an error if the watchdog is violated.
VRC_LOCK_MEMORY	True	No	Locks memory to prevent paging (realtime environment only).
VRC_CHECK_FOR_REALTIME_KERNEL	True	No	Checks whether a realtime kernel is available (realtime environment only).
VRC_PREVENT_SLEEP_STATES	True	No	Blocks all DMA latency enhancements (realtime environment only).

3.1.3. Robot Control Settings

Variables that influence the general operation of the robot control application.

Table 51 Robot Control Variables

Variable	Default	Required	Description
VRC_USE_ROBOT_DRIVER	False	No	Uses the virtual robot driver instead of a real hardware fieldbus connection when set to True.
VRC_ROBOT_DRIVER_PORT_NAME	From config file	No	Specifies the port name used for the RobotDriverPort connection (only relevant if VRC_USE_ROBOT_DRIVER is set).
VRC_DEACTIVATE_SINGULARITY_MONITORING	False	No	Deactivates the singularity monitoring if the movement of the robot is too restricted.
VRC_FEAT_CART_PTP_BLENDING	False	No	Enables blending of Cartesian PTP movements.

3.1.4. Fieldbus Configuration

Variables related to the EtherCAT fieldbus communication.

Table 52 Fieldbus Variables

Variable	Default	Required	Description
VRC_FIELDBUS_INTERFACE_NAME	Interface name string from config file	No	Specifies the name of the Ethernet port on the IPC to which the fieldbus is connected (e.g., eth0).
VRC_FIELDBUS_LOG	True	No	Enables the fieldbus logging after an error or shutdown.
ECAT_LINK_LAYER	RSOCK	No	Selects the EtherCAT link layer implementation.